Liver is a very bloody meat, so it cannot be koshered by simply letting it soak in salted water, as one might do with other meats. Instead, you'll need to pre-cook the liver using a thorough broiling technique to make it kosher.

Ingredients

Beef, calf, or chicken liver

Salt

Steps

Part 1

Preparing the Liver

1

Be particular about the liver you buy. The liver should come from a kosher species (cow, calf, or chicken) that was slaughtered in the matter described by the Torah.

The fats of the liver should have been removed during the time of slaughter.

Ideally, you should purchase liver from an animal that was slaughtered no more than 72 hours ago. The koshering process itself should be performed within 72 hours. If it is performed past that time period, you can only eat it in its broiled state; do not reheat it in a manner that allows the liver to sit in its own juices.[1]

2

Drain the blood. As soon as you purchase fresh liver, you should drain the excess blood from the packaging.

Do not allow the liver to sit in its own blood for more than 24 hours.

3

Thaw the liver, if necessary. If you purchase frozen liver, it needs to be completely thawed before you kosher it to ensure a thorough broil.

When defrosting the meat, do not let it sit in its own blood for more than 24 hours.

Part 2

Preparing the Workspace

1

Choose an appropriate heat source. Ideally, you should use a fire source placed directly below the liver, like an open fire, grill, or broiler with a bottom element.[2]

It is, however, permissible to use a heat source that broils the liver from above if that is the only option available to you. This would include the broiler of a standard electric oven.

If using the stovetop, cover the surface of the stove with aluminum foil to prevent blood from splashing onto it by accident.

2

Protect the heat source. If you want to use that heat source again, you need to protect it from blood splatter as the liver broils.

The easiest way to do this is to place a solid pan on a rack beneath the grated pan holding the liver. This second pan should be able to catch the blood that drips off, but you should not use it for any other process other than koshering liver.

If blood does drip onto the heat source, you will need to kasher it before using it for kosher foods.

3

Know how to handle the utensils. You can use a fork or tongs to handle the liver as it broils, but these utensils become unclean during the process and should not be used to handle the liver after you kosher it.

You can either kasher the utensils afterward or set them aside and use them for the sole purpose of koshering liver. Do not use unclean utensils with other foods.

Do not let the liver come into contact with serving plates, bowls, knives, and forks before you kosher it.

Part 3

Koshering the Liver

1

Cut across the liver. If using a beef or calf liver, cut deep criss-crosses into the meat all across one side of the surface.

Alternatively, you could make a single deep cut down the width and a single deep cut down the length of the liver.

These cuts make it easier for the blood to flow out.

You could also cut the liver into smaller pieces or slices of uniform thickness instead of making these incisions.

This step is not necessary if you are using chicken livers due to their small size.

2

Remove the gallbladder (when applicable). If you are using a chicken liver, you will need to cut out the gall bladder if the butcher did not do so already.

The gall bladder is green and should look like a small cylinder.

3

Wash off the blood. Rinse the liver under cold water to wash off all outside blood. You should also remove all visible blood clots at this time.

4

Salt all sides. Sprinkle all sides of the liver with coarse salt immediately before you plan on koshering it.

You should use an amount of salt that you would use to make the liver taste good. You can use more salt if desired, however.

The salt will help to extract the blood during the cooking process.

Salting is not strictly necessary for this koshering process since the actual work is done by heat. If you are on a low-sodium diet, especially for a medical reason, you can skip the salt.

5

Place it on a grate. Place the liver cut-side down on a wire rack or grate.

The grate you use must allow blood and other juices to flow freely from the liver during the broiling process. Do not use a solid pan that will allow the liver to cook in its own juices.

Note that the grate you use during this process will become unclean afterward and must be koshered later if you want to use it again.

If working with more than one piece of liver, you can overlap the liver as it broils, but the cut-sides should still face downward.

6

Broil over an open fire, rotating several times. Place the liver over the preheated heat source of medium/moderate heat. Keep an eye on it as it cooks, and turn the liver several times during the broiling process to make sure that all sides of the meat are evenly exposed to the flame.[3]

The surface of the liver does not need to be burned, but the entire cut of meat should be at least one-half to two-thirds done.

Typically, the outer juices should stop flowing and the outside should be completely dry.

You could also broil the liver on a hand-operated rotisserie spit as long as the liver is washed after it has been placed on the spit and before it is broiled. Do not rotate the spit constantly; only rotate it several times throughout the process so that the blood can drip off. Also note that the spit will become unclean afterward.

7

Rinse three times. Rinse the koshered liver under cold, running water three separate times.

This process should remove excess salt and any remaining blood.

Part 4

Using the Liver

1

Check the inside of the liver. When you cut into the liver, the interior should be a shade of green, tan, light brown, or pink.

Raw liver is deep brown, so if the interior is still deep brown, the liver has not been properly koshered. Re-broil this portion or discard it.

If the outline procedures have been followed and the liver is no longer raw, the meat is consider kosher. Any red juices that flow from the liver after this point are not considered blood and are permissible.

2

Cook as desired. You can use finish cooking koshered liver using any other cooking method you desire. The meat can be fried, sauteed, roasted, grilled, broiled, or otherwise treated as any other kosher meat.[4]

The only exception is when the liver sat out for more than 72 hours before the process was performed. In these instances, a strict interpretation of the law would require you to finish cooking the meat by broiling it out of its own juices.

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Warnings

When in doubt, consult a rabbi or other Halachic authority to double-check the best way to proceed. For instance, you may wish to consult such an authority if you are using liver that was butchered more than 72 hours ago, if you have a less than ideal heat source, or if the raw liver sat in its own blood for more than 24 hours.